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Working at CSU

Office of Research Services develops research software, wins CSUAB recognition

February 24, 2009

With over $281 Million in revenues generated in 2008 alone, Colorado State University's faculty research is the single largest operating revenue source on campus. The nine individuals that make up the Office of Research Services provides custom tools to help manage Colorado State research and ease the administrative burden on research faculty and staff.

Like much of Colorado State’s research – often spanning across colleges and universities – the Office of Research Services also partners with other universities to accomplish a goal for the greater good. Ron Splittgerber, Research Services Director, explains further, “CSU has become a partner with other universities in developing community-based software applications for its financial and research management needs, through the Kuali Foundation, rather than purchasing similar applications from commercial vendors.

Kuali Coeus research management

The Office of Research Services is contributing to the technical and functional resources to develop a new Kuali research management system named Kuali Coeus. Working alongside other universities such as MIT, the University of Arizona, Cornell, Iowa State, Michigan State, and the University of California, the Office of Research services is not only developing a state of the art software program, but perhaps more importantly developing the collaborative relationships and alliances to assure the success and sustainability of the software in the future.”

Through this new software, the Office of Research Services is hoping to better manage Colorado State’s research proposals by providing electronic routing of research documents for reviews and approvals, processing and tracking of research proposals, and helping to design proposal budget spreadsheets that aid researchers in automatically calculating fringe, overhead and other related costs. “In addition to software development, deployment and maintenance, the department is responsible for security, networking and desktop support for more than 250 people, along with providing helpdesk support to thousands of faculty and staff engaged in research at Colorado State,” adds Splittgerber.

Dedicated team of people

For their impressive contributions, the Office of Research Services has received recognition this month by the Colorado State University Activities Board. “This hard-working, externally-focused group has helped to put Colorado State on the map both in research dollars and among our peers. We are lucky to have such a dedicated team of people,” states JoAnn Cornell, CSU Activities Board president.

Splittgerber goes on to add, “I’ve enjoyed the privilege of working alongside eight others from the Research Services team for many years. Each contributes to the team, the university and the community in so many ways not known outside the office. This contribution enables a working environment that I look forward to enjoying every day.”